“You forgot to say ‘Uno’!” Lang Giang cheerfully exclaims before covering her mouth in laughter. It’s the twelfth time she’s caught me this trip and blocked me from winning. By this point in our trek, day four of six, Giang feels more like a friend than my tour guide through Sapa.

Once the sun slips beneath the shimmering waves slathering the sky with soft pinks, reds and oranges, the green lamps of the squid boats strung across the horizon blink on and resemble a series of ellipses as if the ocean is trying to articulate the unsayable.

As the planet-wide dumpster fire that was 2018 comes to a close, we’d like to take a moment to look back at the year in Hẻm Gems through our first-ever Golden Plastic Stool Awards. These will honor some of our favorite local eateries from the past 12 months across four categories: Best Vietnamese Food, Best Non-Vietnamese Food, Best Ambiance and Best Cafe/Bar. We’ll also take a moment to honor our favorite Hẻm Gems that were shuttered this year.

Firmly established as the international school of choice in Ho Chi Minh City, the British International School is a selective, independent and co-educational day school that provides a diverse international education measured by British standards.

FMP’s Saigon International Mother & Baby Association (SIMBA) hopes you and your family had a wonderful Christmas and a happy new year—and is delighted to announce that our SIMBA gatherings will be resumed this month!

Facebook Messenger is by far the most popular messaging app for Vietnamese who shop online.

VnExpress reports that 70% of Vietnamese who use chat apps to shop prefer using Messenger in order to contact businesses, according to a recent report from market research company Q&Me.

Overall, Messenger is the most popular chat app in Vietnam, with 94% of respondents using it, followed by Zalo (89%), and phone text messages (59%). This doesn't come as a surprise, given that Vietnam is home to an estimated 42 million daily Facebook users.

In terms of using such apps for shopping, Messenger’s usage rate has grown by 23% since 2016.

Shops and restaurants are the two most frequently contacted types of businesses on Messenger, at 61% and 48%, respectively. Meanwhile, 57% of respondents said they often contact a business in order to ask for information about a product.

Interestingly, many customers were dissatisfied with businesses while using Messenger, as 57% did not receive a response.

The study was conducted through the month of January and involved 300 people in Hanoi and Saigon, the news source shares. Vietnam’s e-commerce market is growing fast. Revenue hit US$2.3 billion in 2018, up nearly 30% from the previous year.